MOLLWITZ - Frederick's Nerve Cracks

The last post took the action up to the end of Turn 5 as shown below.

 

With the Austrian cavalry having shot its bolt, the Prussian army was now freed up to bring its advantage in infantry and artillery to bear.

Turn 6: and on the Austrian right, their cavalry is rallying back for another attempt on the Prussian left flank before them - a daunting task.

In an attempt to revitalise his cavalry wing, Neipperg, who had relocated to Mollwitz to better manage its defence ...

... dispatched one of his ADCs to rally the remnants of the Batthyányi dragoon regiment (DR) but the numbers rallied back to the colours proved too few to restore the regiment to an effective unit[1].

The reduction in his staff would, from now on, restrict Neipperg to no more than four orders per turn.

Meanwhile, the Hungarian Andrássy infantry regiment (IR) which had advanced to support the cavalry, and in return had been badly handled by the Prussian guns, was now charged by the II Max Josef IR.

The sorely tried Hungarians were unable to withstand this blow and, defeated in the mêlée, forced to rally back for two turns.

Beyond this, the Prussian infantry, a veritable wall of steel, continued its relentless advance towards the waiting Austrian line.

But not without cost, as the Austrian gunners frantically worked their pieces to bring down as many as possible before the inevitable clash.

Unfortunately for Maria Theresa's men, anything the Austrian artillery could do was being more than matched by their opposite numbers.

With the Erbprinz regiment closing in on Gruningen ...

... they now came within musketry of the garrison ensconced within the buildings.

Finally, at the end of the turn, the Prussian battery overrun by the Batthyányi dragoons, or what was left of it, finished rallying ready to rejoin the fight.

The overall situation at this point is shown below. 

Losses after Turn 6:  85 Austrian vs 95 Prussian.

Turn 7: and the newly rallied Prinz Karl DR wasted no time charging the Prussian infantry again.  This was not foolhardy recklessness as the II Max Josef IR were still rallying after defeating the Andrássy IR.

The supporting fire from I Max Josef IR struck the Prinz Karl dragoons on the way in, but supporting fire does not affect mêlée outcome and the dragoons won, albeit with minimal casualties on both sides. 

With Neipperg gripping the defence of Mollwitz, the II Arberg IR was ordered forward to attack the Prussian infantry rather than passively awaiting their attack.  This advance brought them with canister range of the opposing artillery battery, but for once luck favoured the Austrians as battery's dice let them down badly.

They were not so lucky when it came to the muskets of the I Diesbach IR.

Neipperg had clearly realising II Arberg IR would be outmatched had already ordered the I Arberg IR up in support. 

At the same time, the assault on Gruningen had stalled, and become a stationary firefight, as both Erbprinz regiments halted to unleash crushing volleys against the garrison who took heavy losses despite being in cover. 

By the end of the turn the infantry of both sides were starting to get to grips with each other. 

Losses after Turn 7:  104 Austrian vs 129 Prussian.

NB: with the Birkenfeld cuirassiers leaving the table, not to return, the higher casualty rate of the Prussians sees their deficit on the balance sheet to be growing again.

Turn 8: sees the all the Austrian cavalry now rallied (except the Prinz Karl DR) but having second thoughts about dashing themselves to pieces against the formidable array facing them.

The Austrian infantry around Mollwitz continue leading to lead a charmed life when it comes to Prussian canister fire, has the Prussian ammunition been sabotaged?

But if the Austrian cavalry have lost faith in cold steel, their infantry have not, and the II Arberg IR charge the I Diesbach IR. 

Honours were even in the mêlée, but the losses suffered from the Diesbach's defensive fire tipped the result in their favour and resulted in II Arberg going under-strength[2].

Will the II Deutschmeister regiment moving up in support of II Arberg face the same fate?

At the far end of the line the Erbprinz regiments remain locked in a firefight with the garrison of Gruningen, but the garrison is heavily outnumbered and losing badly.

All this leaves the battle-map little changed.

Losses after Turn 8:  136 Austrian vs 158 Prussian.

Despite II Arberg going under-strength the Austrians have maintained a healthy lead over the Prussians.

Turn 9: sees the concerns over possible sabotage of the Prussian artillery approach panic levels as one by one the Prussian artillery batteries underperform.  First, the guns of Field Battery nr.3 each needing 2+ to hit ...

... and then when the successful gun rolls for casualties!

The systematic nature of these failures is brought home when Field Battery nr.2 fires needing 3+ to hit.

By comparison the Austrian artillery seems to be working fine ... 

... and wreaking havoc on the Prussian infantry.

However, Prussian musketry remains effective as the Erbprinz infantry shreds the garrison of Gruningen (building shell removed to show interior and garrison) ...

... while also applying flanking fire to the advancing Austrian infantry.

With the pressure building on Gruningen and fight for Mollwitz in the balance ...

... the battle is clearly reaching a crisis point.  And the big question is will the Austrian cavalry use their superior mobility to intervene and tip fight the balance around Mollwitz in favour of the Austrians?

The battle-map showing this situation as the turn ends is shown below.

Losses after Turn 9:  143 Austrian vs 170 Prussian.

With losses still mounting and the Austrians still pulling further ahead ...

************Breaking News************

With the balance sheet increasingly negative and his artillery inexplicably ineffective Frederick II decides the day is lost and quits the field[3]!

The official explanation for his departure is that is that he has gone to seek reinforcements and a fresh supply of ammunition for the army.

Can this be the end?

Notes:

[1.]  ADCs may be sent to take command of units that are, or in danger of becoming, under-strength or un-officered.  On arrival they take command, and become part of, the unit and roll a D6 for how many figures rally back to the unit (halved if artillery and doubled if infantry).  Unfortunately for Neipperg, this ADC efforts only recovered 2 figures, not enough for the unit to recover from being under-strength.  

[2.]  Under-strength units are counted as lost so although remnants of the II Arberg IR is still on the table all the figures are added to the Austrian loss total.

[3.]  IIRC the real reason is that Matthew (playing Frederick II by email form New Zealand) had to go away for work for a couple of days and was unable to continue the game.